David Cameron

Anti-corruption after Brexit: What is left of David Cameron’s legacy?

David Cameron’s government frequently emphasised the need to tackle corruption, both within the UK and abroad. Daniel Hough assesses how this picture is likely to change following Britain’s decision to leave the EU and the appointment of Theresa May as Prime Minister. He writes that with Brexit posing a number of challenges for May’s government, there is a danger […]

The London Anti-Corruption Summit: one good day is not enough

Issues of financial secrecy took centre-stage at the anti-corruption summit in London on 12 May. Sam Power reviews the progress made, arguing that the summit was a small step in the right direction, but by no means the dawn of a new era. With the limelight on the anti-corruption talks already fading away, the summit’s success will ultimately depend on the process for translating reforms into action.

Panama Papers: this is a chance to fix a long broken system

After a year of cross border investigations, a big leak of documents belonging to the Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca has started to be released in international media. The documents lay bare cases of tax evasion and money laundering, implicating a number of prominent personalities and world leaders. Daniel Hough assesses the importance of the inquiry and argues that this scandal should be […]

Yanis Varoufakis: “The UK should stay in the EU to fight tooth and nail against the EU’s anti-democratic institutions”

In an interview with EUROPP’s editor Stuart Brown, former Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis discusses the launch of his new ‘Democracy in Europe’ movement (DiEM25), the UK’s upcoming referendum on EU membership, and why a surge of democracy is needed to prevent the EU from sliding toward disintegration.

You have just launched a new political movement, DiEM25, which has the […]

The UK’s renegotiation proposal: A good compromise, but much needs to be done to convince voters

A draft proposal for the UK’s renegotiation of its EU membership was published on 2 February. Benjamin Leruth assesses whether the proposal meets the goals set out in David Cameron’s letter to Donald Tusk in November. He writes that while in principle the key aims set out by Cameron have been met, there remains a long way to go […]

A double bind: Cameron urges non-discrimination in one policy area, while wanting to discriminate in another

The UK government has entered the final stages of its negotiations with the EU. The issues of immigration control and the refugee crisis seem to overshadow the debate. Yet, as Waltraud Schelkle points out, the “Dear Donald — Yours David” letter of Prime Minister Cameron to European Council President Tusk reveals that the other leading issue is financial integration in a European Union with […]

If bombing the Middle East was the way to peace, it would be the most peaceful place on Earth

British MPs voted to deploy bomb attacks against ISIS/Daesh strongholds in Syria, in response to their attacks in Paris. Here, Sean Swan argues that this is misguided; despite the understandable yearning to be seen to ‘do something’, the Middle East has been bombed by the West before without achieving the desired results, and there is nothing to suggest this time would be […]

Britain’s risky euro-out strategy

In his letter to Donald Tusk, David Cameron stressed the importance of Eurozone and non-Eurozone members being on an equal footing. Iain Begg argues that this request is problematic. Among the issues raised, he writes that it would be a mistake to think that the interests of the nine member states that are out of the Eurozone are closely aligned and that […]

David Cameron’s proposal to give national parliaments a ‘red card’ over EU laws is deeply flawed

David Cameron has sent a letter to the President of the European Council, Donald Tusk, outlining the key elements that he will seek in a renegotiation of the UK’s EU membership. As Valentin Kreilinger writes, one of Cameron’s demands is to strengthen the role of national parliaments in the EU’s legislative process, with the provision of a so called ‘red […]

The UK’s renegotiation: What a fair deal between London and its European partners might look like

David Cameron is in the process of renegotiating the terms of the UK’s EU membership ahead of a referendum to be held before the end of 2017. However there remains little clarity on the precise concessions that the UK wishes to secure. Thierry Chopin outlines a proposal for a fair deal between the UK and the EU which focuses […]

European views on the UK’s renegotiation: Ireland, Portugal, Austria and Croatia

The success or failure of David Cameron’s planned renegotiation of the UK’s EU membership will depend to a large extent on how the other 27 EU member states respond to his proposals. But how do countries across the EU view the UK’s renegotiation? Building on a report published in 2014 by the German Council on Foreign Relations, EUROPP is […]

European views on the UK’s renegotiation: France, the Netherlands, Slovenia and Latvia

The success or failure of David Cameron’s planned renegotiation of the UK’s EU membership will depend to a large extent on how the other 27 EU member states respond to his proposals. But how do countries across the EU view the UK’s renegotiation? Building on a report published in 2014 by the German Council on Foreign Relations, EUROPP is […]

How Portugal’s election resembled the UK’s general election and what both contests indicate about European politics

Portugal held parliamentary elections on 4 October, with the ruling centre-right coalition led by Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho winning the election, despite losing its absolute majority in parliament. James Dennison and Filipe Brito Bastos write that in many respects the Portuguese elections paralleled the general election held in the UK in May, with an incumbent conservative government managing […]

Perceptions and reality: Ten things we should know about attitudes to immigration in the UK

Figures released on 27 November showed that net migration to the UK in the year to June had risen to 260,000 people. With David Cameron having previously announced a goal of cutting net migration to below 100,000 per year by the time of the 2015 general election, the figures have once again pushed the issue of immigration to the […]

The key focus for the EU should be on producing results for its citizens, not institutional reform and procedural changes

The results of the European Parliament elections have prompted a number of European politicians to call for a reform process aimed at enhancing democracy and solving existing issues within the EU’s institutional framework. Renaud Thillaye writes that while ‘reform’ may be the mantra of the day, what European voters really want are tangible results, such as improved economic performance […]

How do you solve a problem like… Nigel? What Austria can teach the Conservatives about dealing with UKIP

The United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) gained the largest vote share and seat allocation in the UK’s European Parliament elections. Tim Bale writes that while UKIP’s strong polling ratings prior to the election had already prompted David Cameron’s Conservative Party to take a harder line on immigration and the EU, it would be a mistake to respond to UKIP’s […]

David Cameron will face challenges both at home and abroad after the votes are counted in the European Parliament elections

The UK’s Conservative Party does not sit with other mainstream centre-right parties in the European Parliament as a member of the European People’s Party, but instead sits in a smaller group, the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR). Tim Bale assesses some of the challenges the party might face after the European Parliament elections on 22-25 May. He notes that with […]

The British Prime Minister David Cameron has pledged to hold a referendum on the UK’s EU membership should he win a majority at the next general election. Simon Usherwood writes on the policy of the opposition Labour Party, who are reportedly considering offering a referendum on EU membership of their own. He argues that the main factor behind this decision […]

David Cameron has committed the UK to renegotiating its membership of the European Union if he wins a majority at the next British general election. As Andrew Duff writes, one of the key elements of this reform package will likely be to elevate the role of national parliaments in the EU’s legislative process. He argues that such a proposal should […]

David Cameron is committed to holding a referendum on the UK’s EU membership should he win a majority at the next general election. In an effort to understand why parties call for referendums on European integration, Andreas Dür and Nikitas Konstantinidis look at data from the ratification of the EU’s Constitutional Treaty in 2004. They find that the amount of […]